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Money matters

Havering Funding Arrangements

Funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Havering comes from three main sources:

  • The Local Authority
  • The Dedicated Schools Grant
  • The National Health Service

Funding from the Local Authority includes funds from the Government as well as money raised by the Council Tax.  The spending is agreed by elected Council Members.  For Children and young people with SEND this funding is largely used for social care services which includes social workers, short breaks and direct payments as well as residential placements.  However it is also used for SEND transport and some other services for example educational psychologists.

The Dedicated Schools Grant is specifically for schools and other educational services specified in the conditions of the grant.  Most of it goes directly to schools but a small amount is kept back for services provided by the local authority for example support for children with hearing impairment.  Once the funding is distributed to schools it is up to the Head teacher and the Governors how it is spent. This funding pays for the support for children with SEND which is provided by the school.  For children who require considerable additional support a school's budget can be topped up from the small amount kept back by the Local Authority.  This funding is also used to pay for out of borough placements.

Funding from the NHS goes to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) who then commission the services to be provided for SEND.  Most of these services, for example therapies, are currently provided by the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) however this is currently under review and so a more detailed explanation will be provided in the near future.

In common with other Local Authorities Havering is currently considering how these funding streams can be put together to maximise the amount of support available to children and young people with SEND.

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